Jailbird
by Shiny Vapor
Summary: A deadly ONESHOT within a horror AU. Jack wakes to a nightmarish reality where all he can think about is getting home to his family.


**A/N: **_**Warning!**_** This story contains subjective matter not suitable for young children or those with the faint of heart. Reader discretion is advised.**

* * *

><p>There was a certain kind of atmosphere in the air; the kind you could cut a diamond to. Jack didn't frighten easily. In fact, he hardly had any fears at all. However, standing outside his parent's house, his heart beat faster than it had ever beaten before in his lifetime. His piercing blue eyes held gaze to the doorknob.<p>

A white door, splattered with what could only be blood.

He reached for the door with a shaky hand. His other, gripped down on a metal baseball bat. He had to prepare himself; to be ready for anything. Whatever was behind that door needed to be dealt with; the same way he dealt with the _others_.

Jack had to know.

Were they dead or were they alive?

Or worse?

Slowly, he pushed open the door.

What he saw next silenced his breath. His eyes grew wide in shock and fear. He could feel his entire body shake. The grip he once had on the bat loosened; to the point of nearly dropping. Jack's eyes filled with desperate tears. He shook his head, as if that would make it not true. As if he could make the image go away.

"No…please…"

_**You can't stop it, Jack. Everyone's going to die. Everyone you know. Everyone you love. Everyone. And there's nothing you, or anyone, can do about it.**_

"NO!"

_**-**_**4 hours earlier**_**-**_

Jack grunted in his sleep. There was a sharp pain protruding from his temples. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt worn out and heavy. He winced out loud at the sudden pain in his left eye. Touching it gently, he found the culprit to be a bruise.

"What the hell?"

The room around him was dimly lit with the smell of urine. Having his eyes fully opened and his vision adjusted, Jack finally recognize where he had been.

A jail cell.

Slowly, the night before began coming back to the young adult. There was a bar and a girl, a gigantic boyfriend, and a fight. Jack laughed at his new memories as he sat up and out of his new bed. If you could call it that; bench would be stretching it too.

He was alone.

No cell mate. No one made a sound beside him. There was no guard. No one. It was strange to say the least.

"Hello?"

His voice echoed.

"Heh, do I get my one phone call yet?" Jack found himself amusing.

Though, the crippling silence was starting to weigh heavy on the joker. There was no one around to bother. No one to piss off. Jack didn't have any friends, but he had plenty of enemies. He never really thought about being alone; truly alone. But now that's all there was. He hated it. Being locked in a cage, unable to stir up trouble. The boy needed to get out. Needed to move. His thoughts were creeping up on him again and he couldn't allow himself to hear them.

"Hello!? Anyone out there?"

Jack grabbed the bars in front of him and tired pushing his head through. His head immediately jerked back from a putrid smell. Now that his nose caught the scent, he was unable to smell anything else. It wasn't anything like most jail cells; a mixture of urine and alcohol. No, this was something else. Something different.

Something horrid.

_Like metal and shit._

"Is anyone out there?!"

More silence, if only for a moment, then a groan. Jack looked to the side; it seemed someone had been in the cell beside him all along. A dumb grin appeared on his face, "Aw man. What did you do?" He asked his new neighbor with amusement.

The man didn't answer, only groaned again.

Jack frowned, "Aye man…you drunk?"

The groaning stopped briefly. And then, scratching on the wall. Jack stepped closer to it. Whoever was on the other side, wanted to get over to him and badly.

It was rather eerie, "Dude you alright?"

His groan erupted into an unnatural cry. It didn't sound sad or angry. The sound also wasn't anything Jack had ever heard before. Goosebumps found their way to Jack's skin and, for a moment, the cry sounded like hunger. It pierced Jack's heart like a knife, swallowing his sense of youth invincibility and forcing him to submit to the one thing he hated.

Fear.

Jack backed up on reflex. The clawing then stopped. He felt as if he were acting foolish. This caused him to chuckle nervously and run his hand through his hair. Jack went to speak but then the cell beside him rattled. The man reached out of his cage and clawed openly at the air. Flesh from his arm seemed to melt off. That putrid smell from earlier enhanced and Jack found himself actually covering his nose.

"W-what the hell...oh s-shit! Your arm!"

More groaning was suddenly heard. Jack looked forward again to catch movement in the dark. A few police officers stumbled over, all their flesh decaying. Jack nearly threw up at the sight and the smell. They moaned and groaned as they moved closer to him.

Jack could only back up more but he was trapped; stuck in a cage, "This is…what the hell is this!?"

The cops appeared to be dead but they were walking. They were walking towards Jack and he couldn't escape. Thankfully, their bodies hit the cell bars. They groaned and clawed their arms through the bars. Jack hit the back of his confined space. He watched as the living dead pawed at his direction.

Jack had no idea what was going on but he knew he had to get out. Gathering all of his courage, he stepped closer. He was careful not to get too close and studied each officer. The night before wasn't clear, but he was able to recognize which officer threw him in the cage. He knew that officer had a key to his cell. Jack needed to be brief and fast. One false move and it was game over.

Jack's fist clenched for a moment. He then moved forward and reached his arm through the bars. With one quick movement he pick pocketed one of the officers. He was clawed at, but his arm retracted before any harm could be done. Jack stumbled back so roughly he fell over. He panted lightly before looking down and at the keys in his grasp.

The easy part was over.

Now, he had to get out and through whatever the officers around him had become. Jack stood back up and breathed in deeply. He would need to unlock his cell by reaching through the bars, something he didn't want to do again but needed to.

Glancing around his cell, Jack looked for something to distract the guards with.

Suddenly, a light flashed. The officers reacted by moving away from Jack's cell and over to it. Jack froze; only to hear a familiar voice in the distance, "Move it Frost!"

Jack bit the inside of his cheek to make himself move. With haste he unlocked his cell and moved out. A few of the officers turned to him but Jack rushed the nearest wall. He jumped against it and flipped off before landing on a nearby desk. He was attacked, but dodged harm by lunging off the desk and rolling onto the floor. Jack rolled onto his feet and ran the second he was able to.

He followed the light until it shut off.

"Let's move!" He heard his old friend say and followed after him without question.

His name was Jim Hawkins. Jack and Jim were childhood friends, until a misunderstanding that led to their falling out.

Jim didn't head towards the exit. In fact, the hellion only headed further into the precinct. Jack stopped near the exit. He shouted at his once friend that he was going the wrong way. But the boy didn't stop. Jack grunted under his breath at that, and rushed after him.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, Jimbo?!"

"Don't call me that." He snapped before slamming his side against a nearby door. Jack winced at the sight, only to blink. Jim stumbled into the armory. A wicked grin came to the boy's face as he dropped a duffel bag down. He then, shoved as many guns and ammo as he possibly could into the dark bag.

"Wait…you're not actually thinking of…" Jack began only to get cut off.

"Listen to me. Outside…things…things aren't the same anymore."

Jack tried to look at Jim's face but his back was all he could see, "What's going on? Those cops looked dead, Jim. But they were alive and what? Trying to kill us-"

"Eat."

"What?"

Jim turned around now, "They want to eat you."

Jack froze but Jim just stood up, "And when they do…you'll turn too. Into one of them."

"I-I have to go home."

"We need to move."

Jack grit his teeth, "I need to get my family! Mary…she needs me!"

"I know you don't get what's going on. And I know you don't want to hear this…but they're probably dead. All of them. I'm sorry but…but it's best if you just keep moving."

Without warning, Jack grabbed Jim by his collar and slammed him against the wall. Jim grunted, only to glare. Jack met his glare, "You don't know! You're just scared! I'm not like you, Jim! I actually have a family! People I care about and I need to protect them!"

"You think there's no one I care about!?" Jim shoved Jack so hard he fell backwards, "I'm only helping you! Saving you from unimaginable pain! And I'm not talking about dying from one of those things either…"

Jack growled lowly. His fist clenched and he was ready to fight back. But the groaning caught him off guard. Jack's head spun around; the smell entered the room the moment a body fell near. It clawed at Jack's legs and moved in to bite his face.

Jack's ears nearly erupted from Jim's gun fire. Blood and flesh splattered all over Jack's hair and face. He coughed some remains out of his mouth and threw up slightly into his palms.

"We gotta get out of here. Now."

Jack nodded at Jim's words, wiping his dirty hands on his pants. When he looked up, Jim tossed him a gun. Jack stared at the destructive tool for a moment. He had never used a gun before. He normally fought with his own fists, sometimes a knife or a bat.

But never a gun.

"I'm going home." Jack said bitterly, "Do whatever you want."

Jim frowned hard. Though they were no longer on him, he watched Jack's eyes. He then sighed as he walked passed him and out the door. He aimed his gun one way then another, "Fine."

Jack exhaled; as if he had been holding in his breath the entire time.

"And Jack."

A few more rushed them.

Jim fired at one head then another. The third one lunged at Jim, but he simply slammed the butt of his new shotgun against its face. It fell back and Jim fired at its head, "Always aim for the head."

Jack felt his hands shaking. Jim's eyes looked dead. It was if the person he once knew was trapped somewhere inside his own body, but unable to take control. Or perhaps, he was in complete control for the first time in his life. Jack couldn't tell. And that's what worried him the most.

"…what are they?"

"Not human. Not anymore."

Jack clenched the gun in his possession, "How…is this happening?"

"I dunno man…all I know is, we needa get the hell outta dodge."

"My house first. We'll leave together."

Jim nodded, "…right."

The two headed for the exit. There was a horde moving towards them, and moving in the way of the doors outside. Jim cursed under his breath but when Jack aimed his gun, he moved his hand in the way and lowered it. Jack shot Jim a questioning look.

"We can't waste bullets…there are too many of them." He whispered.

Jack watched the horde of decaying humans hurry towards them, "What do we do then?!"

Jim didn't like it, but he had an idea. He turned his flashlight on, shined it on the monsters, and tossed it away. The horde immediately chased after the light. Jim grabbed Jack's shoulder and ran for the doors, "Come on!"

Jack and Jim tackled the doors down together. They both pulled up their guns once outside and aimed. It was dark, but Jack could still hear them. Jim ran over to the closest car and slammed the window open. Once the alarm went off, the movement rushed towards the vehicle. Jim didn't wait around. He ran towards Jack then passed him and away.

Jack ran after him, "What are you doing!? We could have used the car-"

"I used a car once, they surrounded it. Just like they're doing to that one…I almost didn't make it. Plus, you never know if one of them is in the back seat waiting for you. Never again."

"So we just run?"

Jim rushed over to some random house near the police station. He reached under the deck and tossed Jack a skate board before pulling out one for himself.

Jack grinned briefly, "Damn. I forgot how much of a show off you were…"

Jim smirked back, "Try to keep up." And hopped on the board.

Jack skated after him, "How did you know I was at the police station?"

"I didn't. I just went there for guns, found you."

"Two boards?"

Jim's eyelids lowered, though Jack couldn't see.

"Someone was with you…"

"Head's up!" Jim swerved out of the way and looked back to make sure Jack had done the same. The decay tumbled over itself from Jim's dodge, which allowed Jack to kick flip over it.

"And _I'm_ the show off."

Jack flashed a cocky smile and Jim grinned. For a moment, it felt like the two were friends again. It was as if the streets weren't filled with undead monsters and the night was a regular night.

The two avoided the undead by slipping off the streets and into the park. Jack's house was only a few blocks away now. Jim and Jack used to cut through the park whenever they skipped school. Jim would sleep over Jack's house often and go to school with him the next day.

Dawn was approaching.

The park was quite large, and what seemed to be abandoned was suddenly swarming with undead. Jim and Jack stopped short at the same time. They were in the middle of the playground, with a face full ofliving nightmares. Jim grit his teeth before looking behind them. Jack frowned when he saw that more were emerging from all angles.

They were surrounded.

"I have enough guns to hold them off." Jim said with little to no emotion.

"What are you saying, Jim?!"

"I'm saying go. Go to your family. I'll be alright."

Jack's head was spinning. There were monsters all around them; closing in. And Jim's words weren't helping, "You were my family once too Jim. I can't just leave you!"

Jim aimed his gun at Jack, "I'm not askin' Jack."

Jack's heart hit his throat, "…Jim…" He clenched his sweaty palms so tight his knuckles turned white, "This isn't a game!"

"You can't stop it, Jack. Everyone's going to die. Everyone you know. Everyone you love. Everyone. And there's nothing you, or anyone, can do about it."

Jack went to speak, but his eyes caught sight of the stock of Jim's shotgun. Darkness washed over him. He didn't have any dreams, only nightmares. When he awoke, he was lying on top of a tree branch. Jack sat up so quickly that he fell right off the branch and out of the tree. Jack twisted his body and landed on his hands and feet.

His eyes widened as he stood up, "JIM!?"

It was morning.

The park was stained with blood, corpses, and empty shells.

Jack looked around, but didn't see his old friend anywhere. But behind him and resting against the tree, was a baseball bat. Jack's eyes grew heavy. Jim knew he never liked guns, "Jim…"

A groan snapped Jack back to his new demented reality. He turned slowly and stared blankly at the dead person limping towards him. Jack's hand twitched and he grabbed the bat. There was a hungry cry but Jack spun back around. He swung harder than he knew he could.

The bat was stained with blood. And though it was the first, it wouldn't be the last. Jack knew now that his world was changed. That he couldn't dick around anymore. He needed to ignore all human compassion and find his family.

Jack left the park. On his way to his home, he bashed more than one head in. For the most part, however, he tried to sneak around _them_.

He reached his house with new found fear.

The front door had blood on it.

Jack panted lowly with mixed thoughts. Slowly, he pushed opened the door. He saw his father dead on the living room floor, his mother behind the man feeding on his corpse. Jack panted harder until he saw his little sister. Mary moved into his line of sight and caught his breath.

She was covered in blood with dead eyes.

"No…please…"

Mary cried out for her brother's flesh.

"NO!"

She lunged at him and he swung.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: This story was originally supposed to be a much larger story, consisting of 'The Big Four' and many Disney/Dreamworks characters; entitled 'The Final Four'. However, due to issues on the site: it was taken down. Regardless, I hope you enjoyed reading Jack's grueling tale as a simple ONESHOT.**


End file.
